


Bryce Wayne and the best worst kept secret

by TheCuriousCat



Category: Batman: Arkham (Video Games)
Genre: Barbara Gordon in a Wheelchair, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Barbara Gordon sometimes snitches, Barbara Gordon worries, Black Batman, Bruce Wayne Needs a Break, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Bruce Wayne misses Jason Todd, Dick Grayson Misses Jason Todd, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson worries about his mother, F/F, F/M, Female Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon & Bruce Wayne Friendship, Jim Gordon needs a break, Killer Croc spills the beans, Long-Suffering Jim Gordon, Mixed-Race Robin, Police Officer Dick Grayson, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, Protective Tim Drake, Romanian Nightwing, Slightly - Freeform, Tim Drake is Robin, Tim Drake looks up to Jason Todd, Tim Drake worries about his mother, joker is an asshole, joker knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:40:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24963157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCuriousCat/pseuds/TheCuriousCat
Summary: A rewrite of the Batman Arkhum games with a female Batman. Bryce Wayne was done with this shit before she even stepped foot in the Asylum, now she has to run around after the Joker while dodging the other inmates she's placed behind bars and try to keep Oracle busy so she doesn't end up calling Dick and Tim. The last thing she needs to worry about is her two remaining sons getting hurt trying to help her.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne (One Sided), Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 23
Kudos: 110





	1. Bryce is having a horrible night and it's only just started.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to use a lot of the dialogue from the games so if you guys don't like it shoot me a message.

Bryce Wayne spent her days going to charity galas and keeping in touch with her two remaining sons Dick and Tim (both of which seemed to inherit her abysmal keeping in touch skills) while her nights where spent dressed as Batman fighting crime. Nights like this however made her wonder if it was worth it.

The rain pounded onto the windshield of the batmobile as she drove through the streets of Gotham, the Joker sat in her back seat sprouting nonsense as usual which she ignored. Dick had been instantiate that she call him after she dropped him off, he didn't like how easily the Joker had surrendered and she would be lying if she said she was comfortable with it ether. Especially with the fire at Blackgate that now had the asylum at maximum capacity. The scenery changed from large buildings to dead trees, to most the change would be daunting but she had made this trip too many times to be affected by it anymore. Soon she was pulling up to the asylum's large doors, the Joker laughed as she pulled him out and dragged him to the door. The doors opened as they approached, guards lined the walls as she walked the Joker to Warden Sharp.

"Hey, Sharpie! Love what you've done with the place!" Joker says with a laugh.

"That's WARDEN Sharp to you." Sharp shoots back with a look of superiority then he turns to a guard behind him. "Boles." The guard walks forward.

"Yo, Frank-ay. How's the wife and kids? Ya miss me?" Boles grabs the Joker's shirt and pulls him forward.

"Shut it, clown! A lot of people here really want to talk to you." Boles then drags the Joker to a standing table.

"Really, I don't mind walking!" The Joker snarks, the guards ignore him and strap him down. "Not so tight, boys. You'll crease the suit." He complains, they ignore him again.

"Get that filthy degenerate out of here" Sharp growls.

"Warden, something's not right. I'm going with him!" She says, the voice and face modifier making her look and sound like a white middle aged man. She and the three guards wheeling the Joker set off down the hall after the door opens. "Is Commissioner Gordon here yet?" She asks one of the guards just inside the doorway.

"Yes sir, err, waiting for you down at Patient Handover. He got here just before you did" Joker makes a snarky comment about Warden Sharp's cameras and the new security but she doesn't pay much attention, too busy trying to figure out his angle. She pays more attention when the alarm in the 'weapon detection chamber' goes off but it's soon revealed that SHE'S the one who tripped it not the Joker.

"Ohh, what'd ya sneak in with you, Bats? C'mon. Tell me, tell me! Batarangs? Batclaws? Bat snacks?" She ignores him. The guard manning the scanning room gives the all clear on Joker and the door on the other side of the chamber opens.

"I want weapons on him at all times. Do not let him out of your sight." Cash growls from the other side of the door as they wheel the Joker out of the chamber.

"There will be time enough for you later, Cash. Speaking of time, tick, tock, tick, tock. Is that a crocodile I hear?" The Joker snipes back with a little growl of his own.

As they pass Doctor Young Joker makes a snarky remark about a scheduled therapy session, she looks scared and Bryce makes a note of it in the back of her mind. As they walk down the new hallway some of the Joker's goons who where transferred from Blackgate start chanting his name until the guards walking them away to silence them. The Joker makes another snide remark about how they could have been hurt in the prison fire that had them transferred here in that tone which meant he had everything to do with it, she files this away as well. Soon she'll have enough pieces of the puzzle to put together the picture being painted around her, she just hoped she did it fast enough to stop the worst of his plans. They're stopped just before the elevator's by a medical doctor who has to assess the Joker's injuries, the man stops after the Joker scares him though. They enter the elevator room and are made to wait as the elevator reaches the top, it's already full when it arrives.

Joker makes a joke about the guards before he turns as much as he can while strapped down and exclaims. "Croc old boy, is that you?" The elevator comes to a screeching halt and the door opens. 'I could have sworn he was bigger' she thinks as the giant man squeezes himself out of the elevator and stands strait. A spot light shines on him as he sniffs the air then his eyes settle on her.

"I've got your scent, Bat _man_. I will hunt you down" No one seems to notice the way he says her name, small mercies. The collar around his neck shocks him right after he's finished speaking. "A toy collar won't stop me from killing you, Bat _man_. I'll rip you apart. Eat your bones." He snarls as he walks away. The tension hangs in the air until the Joker makes a comment about needing new shoes, it seems to remind the guards that he's there and they wheel him on to the elevator. She's the only one who sees his calculating look as his gaze quickly sweeps over her, she keeps her glare neutral as their eyes meet. He just smiles at her like he knows a secret, she ignores him then until the elevator doors close.

"Great night for a party!" Joker exclaims happily as the elevator descends.

"Not where your going!" She can't help but snap, it already feels like it's been a long night and it's only just begun.

"The night is young, Bats. I still have a trick or two up my sleeve. I mean, don't you think that it's a little bit funny how a fire at Blackgate caused hundreds of my crew to be moved here?" It was highly suspect she admitted in her head, she was going to press for more information but Boles cuts her off before she has the chance.

"I thought I told you to stay quiet!" He snapped.

"You really should learn to keep that fat mouth shut. It'll get you in to trouble!" Joker snaps back.

"Tell me something. You've never let me catch you this easily. What are you really after?" She says, half curious and half not wanting to listen to them squabble.

"Oh nothing much. Hundreds dying in pain and fear. All their meaningless lives brought to a horrifying conclusion." He says in the same tone as one would discus the weather. "All thanks to you and a book of matches. Was that the answer you wanted?" She saved from answering him by Warden Sharp appearing on the TV screen. He starts saying something about avoiding the prisoners from Blackgate when, suddenly, the power cuts out. She reacts quickly while the guards panic and grabs the Joker's neck to keep him in place, A few moments later power is restored and they descend again. "What? Don't you trust me?" He chokes out before she releases him.

The elevator finally comes to a stop and the doors open. One of the guards growls at the Joker about the three men he lost when he broke out and it makes him laugh, he counters saying that he'll try for more next time. She doesn't get why they keep egging him on, sometimes men are idiots. They walk slowly down this new hallway until they finally reach the 'Patient Transfer Area' where she sees Commissioner Gordon signing paperwork.

"Long night, Jim?" She asks, relieved to see him. He gives her a little laugh.

"Joker invades city hall and holds the Mayor hostage, leaving it to me to juggle SWAT teams, the media and you. Yeah, it's been a helluva night." He walks over to her and they both make their way over to where the Joker is being unstrapped and re-cuffed, intent to follow him all the way to his cell.

"Hopefully the last one we'll ever have with him" She answers but she doesn't believe it.

"Yeah right" He grumbles, looks like he didn't believe it ether. The two transfer guards stop them at the door, they claim that she's not allowed beyond the electrified security gate because she might upset some of the patients. Gordon tries to argue but they don't listen and walk the laughing Joker beyond the gate without her. "You OK?" Gordon asks her.

"He surrendered almost without a fight. I don't like it."

"At least he's back where he belongs" Gordon says as they walk to the viewing window. She watches as Joker quickly looks to see if she's watching then trips. When the guard bends down to pick him up Joker headbutts him, then raps the chain of his cuffs around his neck. The doctor panicked and tries to free the guard.

"Joker's loose! Alert the Warden!" She yells to one of the guards behind her as she slams her fist into the window, it cracks with the force but doesn't break. He drops the guard he was choking and kicks the doctor then does a dance. He ends by pointing at the camera in the corner of the room.

"Honey, I'm home." He says with a laugh then the electrical gates blocking his way deactivate. She takes two steps back then body slams the window, the glass shatters and she lands in the room. Joker runs up the ramp that leads further into the facility then spreads his arms wide, the electrical gate springs back to life blocking her from reaching him. "Welcome to the madhouse, Bat _man_! I set a trap, and you sprung it gloriously!" She feels her jaw twitch at the way he says man and his grin grows. "Now let's get this party started!" he yells in excitement then runs off as the cells around her open. Great.

The fight is short but brutal, she's not in the mood to fight fair with not only the Joker on the loose but also the knowledge that Killer Croc revealed her true sex to the mad man. She hears a loud crunch as she elbows the last one standing in the side of the head.

"I'm just warming you up, darling" He says through the TV mounted on the wall, his voice an octave lower than usual as he smirks lewdly at her. She ignores him. He doesn't like it and shows her by releasing the rest of the prisoners in the cells around her.

She sighs in her mind and gets back into her fighting stance. When the fight ends Gorgon speaks up from the transfer room, Joker has jammed the security system which means that no one else can get through and help her, she doesn't mind. She works better alone anyway. She does promise that she'll find a way out soon though, she knows that he'll call his daughter as soon as she's out of sight to let her know why he's going to be late home. She in turn will call her sons to inform them of what is happening which will make them panic about her trying to get herself killed again (their words not hers). If she (and by extension her sons) think that she on her way out then it's unlikely that her boys will turn up at the asylum to 'rescue' her. The Joker is apparently out to get her (more than usual if it can be believed).

"Don't make promises you can't keep, darling" He purrs. "I'm in control of the Asylum. You're not going anywhere I don't want you too. Understand?" His voice takes a sultry tone and she's never been so glad that he constantly flirts with her so no one can tell the difference between him knowing she's a woman and him not knowing.

"If you think I'll let you run..." She growls.

"Blah, blah, blah. Always with the hero speak. I'm getting bored of watching you. Why don't you just come and find me..." He tales off with a smirk and one last sweeping glance, the sound of the electric gate deactivating almost covers his whispered. "I wonder if she's sexy under that suit?" Before the screen shuts off.

"You know it's a trap" Gordon says as she walks up the ramp and away from him.

"Of course it is" She states not breaking her stride. 

She slowly makes her way down the processing corridor and is slightly surprised when she's not jumped around every corner she turns then she spots a guard waving her down at the end of the hallway. He apparently has no idea what's going but agrees to help her by trying to get the door behind him open, their conversation is interrupted by a panicked call for help over the radio. Zsasz has gotten free and is holding one of the guards hostage. He offers to go with her but she tells him to stick to trying to open the door then turns and heads over to 'Pacification'. She calls Oracle on the way, she knows that Gordon would have finished his call to her by now and she's hoping to have gotten to her before she called Dick and Tim. If she can distract her then maybe she won't call them at all.

"Oracle, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. What's up?" ... Or maybe Gordon wouldn't have had the chance to call her yet, something about that rubbed her the wrong way but she pushed it aside for later.

"Joker's escaped custody. He's running free in Arkhum."

"Do you need anything? Is dad still there?" She asks quickly.

"Commissioner Gordon is safe. Joker's not far ahead. I'll stay in contact." She feels like she's lying as she cuts the call but she pushes it aside again.

She walks through the door in front of her and is greeted by two panicked guards. The guard who was caught is named Mike, she learns this just before Zsasz electrocuted him as a warning. He promised to kill Mike if he even thought he saw her so she promised the guard talking to her that he wouldn't. Once she's on the upper viewing platform it takes her about thirty seconds to make a plan of attack, she doesn't know who thought it would be a good idea to build this place with so many gargoyles but they may be her new favourite person. She grapples to the one directly behind Zsasz then glide kicks him in the back, she follows up with a quick punch to the back of the head to make sure that he was out then she let the others in so they could get Mike out of the chair. Harley chooses that moment to appear on the TV at the back of the room.

"Can ya hear me? Is this thing on?" She says, the camera is sideways but she figures that out and pushes it right side up. "Oh. Hiya, B-man! Harley Quinn here." She says like Bryce can't see her in her modified nurses uniform. "Do you like my new uniform? Pretty hot, huh? Oh, I got something to show you." She goes to run off screen but quickly runs back on. "One second, B-man" And she's off screen again, Bryce just wants to go home and listen to Dick complain about what stupid thing his partner on the force did today while Tim sits on the floor reading cold cases. Is that too much to ask? "Ta-da!" She says as she pushes Warden Sharp into the frame, he's tied onto a wheelie chair. She sighs inside her mind, apparently the quick night is too much to ask. Thanks universe, you suck. "I'm now subbing for the old man." She says happily. "Old Sharpie's never been happier!" She presses Warden Sharps face slightly into her chest. He does not, in fact, look happy to be there. "In case you ain't figured it out, today's the Joker's big homecoming, and you're the guest of honor" Oh joy...

"You have one chance to surrender Quinn" She growls out.

"Tempting, Bats, but no dice. Now the inmates are running the asylum. Well technically they're Joker's goons shipped from Blackgate, but you get the idea. Bye bye for now!" She says then smashes the camera with the Warden's walking stick.

"Batman, are you picking this up?" Oracle says before she can move away from the screens.

"Oracle, I'm here" Please be the first time she asked, she does not need to worry about her boys on top of all this.

"Arkhum Asylum just vanished off the network!" ... That's not good but also not the worst thing to happen.

"Joker's in control of the security system. He's probably Isolated it off the grid."

"That's not all he's done. All police feeds are reporting he's placed bombs all over Gotham. Says he'll detonate them if anyone sets foot in on Arkhum Island. It's being suppressed at the moment, but the story will brake any time now." Bryce scoffs.

"He's lying. It's just a diversion to keep people away."

"How do you know?" She asks.

"I know him." Bryce says then cuts the call, that should hopefully be enough information to keep Barbara from calling the boys. Now, how does she get out of this room?


	2. The great Commissioner Kidnap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not edited.

When this is all over she's going to have to have a talk with the warden about his easy to access man sized vents. This is slightly ridiculous. Oracle patches her into the guard's radio frequency as she navigates the vent tunnels. She kicks off the vent great when she reaches the other side and ends up back in the 'Processing corridor', she turns the corner and is greeted by the decontamination chamber filled with Joker's poisons gas. The guards and doctors weakly bang on the glass but she knows that there is no helping them, the one's who managed to get above the gas floor however... She grapples herself through a hole in the ceiling then climbs into another vent. It takes her to the upper floor of the decontamination chamber, she pulls up one guard and one inmate (who she imminently knocks out) the uses her batarangs to reactivate the ventilation system.

She leaves the room and walks down the hall she gets a call from Dick as she turns another corner and is met with a door that has the Joker's face painted on it. She answers even though she doesn't want too.

"Hey mom, I was just calling to see how you were doing. You haven't called yet so I thought that you forgot, I forgive you of course. It's not like the Joker escaped and is running around Arkhum with unlimited access to the security systems" His joyful tone turns into an angry hiss at the end, well that secret lasted a long time.  
"It's being handled" she grunts  
"Liar" He hisses back  
"I have to go Nightwing, Oracle will keep you updated" he scoffs  
"Sure you do. Fine, but I'm calling Tim" he growls then hangs up... she's going to beat the Joker into a pancake for this she swears.

She walks into the room and finds Joker standing on top of a large metal container the the ringleader in a circus. 

"What took you so long?" he says, smug. She grabs a batarang and tosses it at his head.  
"There's no escape, Joker. I will find you." she growls at him  
"I'm counting on it. Just not yet!" he stomps his foot onto the metal container, the door opens and reveals a disproportionate man. It looks like someone tried to blow him up like a balloon but stopped half way through. Shards of bone stick out of his skin and she feels slightly sick, on the inside though because she's not giving this fucker anymore ammunition against her. It roars at her and attacks, she becomes worried that she won't be able to defeat it when it suddenly clutches at its head and chest. Its stumbles, jerks once, then falls over dead.  
"Well, that was unexpected wasn't it. Note to self, get better test subjects." he says sounding like it wasn't unexpected at all.  
"Seeing as how I'm feeling generous, I'll give you this one for free darling" he steps up to the edge of the box.  
"Knock me off, I dare you! End this, pull the plug, stop me once and for all!" he spreads his arms and she takes aim but can't follow through, she has an example to make for her sons. If she starts killing then they will see it as ok to do themselves, god knows that they're waiting for her to slip up so that they can hunt the Joker down. He laughs at her as the metal box he's on moves out of view.  
"Your to predictable, Darling! Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a party to organise. I've got guests flying in from all over Arkhum. You'll see."

She has never hated anyone as much as she hates him she swears, this is a nightmare. The guard hiding behind the electrical gate hurries to drop it when he sees that they are alone. She commends the fact that he risked his life to rescue his friend but that doesn't quite dull the fact that he can't get her through to the door to 'extreme isolation'. 

"Having a little trouble there?" Joker says through the TV screen on the security desk  
"Joker!" she growls  
"You were expecting maybe, Two-Face?" he says jokingly but she spots a little spark of jealousy, well that's just great.  
"There's no escape Joker!"  
"I don't want to escape. I'm having way too much fun. I've even got you here to keep a smile on my face!"  
"Not for long" I'm looking forward to punching it off...  
"Really? We'll see. Ta-ta. Oh, I forgot to say. If you where planing on following me, I've arranged a little insurance. Gordon is on his way to Harley as we speak" On the screen Joker shows her Boles slams a pipe into the back of Gordon's head sending him to the ground.  
"officer Boles" she snarls, Joker smiles at her  
"Follow me and he dies. Harley is looking forward to it. Maybe I'll film it and put it on the internet." He shuts off the feed. At least she knows why Gordon didn't call Barbara first, fuck. She know the exact amount of time it takes to get from Wayne manner to Arkhum asylum and she needs to have this situation contained before that timer ends, she will not lose another son to the Joker. 

She decides to go back to the holding cells, Boles isn't that smart so he will have most likely left some sort of trail.  
"Batman! What's happening!" She internally cringes at the slightly panicked sound of Barbara's voice.  
"Joker's escaped. He's sealed himself off. He's got your father!" she knows she can't not tell her what's going on, she suspects that Barbara was just as worried getting the information from her first as she was.  
"Dad!" she cries out, it makes her feel bad for not protecting him better.  
"Don't worry, I'm getting him back!" She promises  
"OK. I know.... But...."  
"Oracle! I'm getting him back. Joker won't win. I won't let him. I'm starting where he was taken. A guard named Frank Boles attacked him. If I fine Frank, I find your father!" She insists, there is no way she's going to make it before Tim gets here if he hasn't already passed out from sleep deprivation. Does that make her a bad mother if that's what she hoped has happened?  
"Bryce! Hurry, please" she sounds desperate as she hangs up. 

Joker starts a monologue as she runs down the halls to Gordon's last location but she ignores him, now is not the time to engage an insane psychopath in idle chit chat. Once she makes it she calls Barbara again, half needing her help and half worried about her.

"Oracle, I'm at the holding cells. I'm setting up a crime scene."  
"So what's the plan? Isolate something in the room that is unique to Boles?" She sounds calmer, she most likely called Dick again. He's the best at getting her to calm down in situations like this.  
"Exactly!" If she says that slightly warmer than usual then there is no one around her to hear it. It takes her a second to spot it, she feels the corner of her lip quirk up.  
"He dropped his flask behind. Sloppy. Let's see what the forensic scanner picks up." She enters 'detective mode' and scans the flask.  
"I can follow traces of alcohol from Frank's bourbon in the atmosphere" She tells Barbara to comfort her further, Barbara may not be a Wayne by name but she was a member of the 'Bat Family' as Dick liked to put it. That made her Bryce's unofficial daughter and Bryce refused to let her kids be sad when she could help it.  
"You follow it. I'm grabbing every reference to Arkhum I can find. May be useful later" Her lips quirked again as Barbara hung up. 'That's my girl'

She pushed herself up and looked to the doorway, there was a small puff of white that wasn't there before. As she got closer her HUD identified it as the alcohol left from Boles breath, she spotted another to her right. Time to hunt.

She ended up at the elevators to the surface, this wasn't good. A guard was to her left trying to call one down but wasn't having much luck. The guard tries to talk to her but she puts her hand up to silence him, there is a puff of alcohol where the lift would stop so they defiantly where on their way up. Harley drops onto the elevator weight when the guard tries to talk again. She informs her that Joker doesn't want her to follow them yet, like that is going to stop her. then she pulls out a bomb switch and clicks the button. She watches Harley rocket upwards and hears the screeching as the elevator descends. She grabs the guard and throws him then jumps out of the way just as it crashes to the ground, sending metal flying. One piece slices across her chest, it doesn't cut her but it does gouge the suit enough that her skin is visible she hopes that the dark tone makes it harder to see. She's lucky that its high enough not to expose her gender to others but the fact that it's even there makes her mad. It doesn't help that Harley decided to make a snarky comment over the speakers. Looks like she's going up the old fashion way.

She parkour's her way into a vent shaft then uses her grappling hook to pull her up further. Joker plays audio of Boles killing his fellow guards on his way up to detract her but it only makes her more determined. She parkour's and grapples herself further in her race ageist time until she picks up a trace of Boles alcohol again. There is a group of Jokers goons waiting for her but that's OK, she needed something to take her anger out on anyway. She ends up breaking a lot more bones than usual but finds it hard to care.

"Batman. How's it going? Any sight of dad?" Barbara says as soon as she answers her call.  
"Don't worry, I'm getting close. Harley Quinn tried to stop me. Dropped an elevator on me"  
"Did it work?" she asks with a little laugh  
"Of course not. I'll get back to you when I reach the end of the trail" She hands up then realises that she's most likely going to tell Dick and Tim (if he's awake) about the elevator, shit.

The door the alcohol goes into is locked but there is an easy access vent to her right so she decides to go that way, she really needs to talk to the warden about how easy it is to get around. The room is filled with Joker's goons, no surprise, and it seems that they've gotten a hold of guns. Oh, Joy. She gives Barbara a quick update about the situation then takes to the sky, landing on one of the god sent gargoyles around the room. She's going to have to pick them off silently if she doesn't want to get shot. Choking people out has never felt this good. She has to go through another vent to follow the trail because that door is locked too, there are armed goons in this one as well. It a simple strategy of coping what she did in the previous room but well, no one accused these guy of being smart. Joker seems to take offence at how easily she goes through his goons because he sends more and starts pointing her out. She goes on the offensive and takes them down before most of them can shoot her, the one's that manage to pull the trigger ether miss or hit her body armour. Tim is going to be pissed when he sees the bruises but there is nothing she can do about it now. Once the room is re-cleared the Joker starts complaining before he turns the speaker off, she ignores him again and follows the trail... Fuck, the trail ends with Boles body strapped to one of the wheeled standing tables. Her earpiece starts crackling then suddenly she can hear the Riddler because of course he has to get involved.

"... Can you hear me, Batman? Of course you can." She doesn't know what she did to deserve this.  
"It is I, Edward Nygma, the Riddler and more importantly, your intellectual superior." Sure buddy.  
"My genius has allowed me to easily hack into you primitive communications. My goal is simple! You complete a serious of amusingly taxing challenges and, well, you'll see. Ready for the first one?" 'No, I don't want to do your stupid riddles when my friend is in danger...'  
"Good. But be careful! Don't CUT yourself on this SHARPLY observed painting" he snickers at the end, she sighs then walks over to the painting of warden Sharp and looks at it pointedly.  
"So you did it. Well done. I would have expected a child to work that out, let alone the _worlds greatest detective_ " he sounds slightly bitter at the end as he hangs up. 

Before she can look for a way out of the room a guard opens a side door and calls out to her, his name is William and he's just as glad as she secretly is about Boles death. She continues through the path he's opened up for her while she tries to find a way out. Half way down the hall she get's a radio message live from Jack Rider, looks like Barbara was right about the story breaking. Turns out Joker contacted the radio station himself with his usual theatrics, 'this isn't going to end well' she thinks as she crawls through another vent. It's almost shocking to find that this one leads to the outside world. She grapples up a ledge then walks up the path until she's a the lip of the cave mouth, she can see the entire Arkhum mansion from up here. It'd be a nice view if current problems weren't according. She sighs then jumps off.


	3. Her poor Batmobile

As soon as she lands the Joker apparently decided to get back at her for ignoring him and tells his goons to wreck her Batmobile. This, understandably, is going to cost him a limb because the only person to ever survive messing with her fucking baby unscathed is Jason and that is how its going to stay! As she makes her way through the court yard and towards her car (she swears if she finds ONE DENT!) she updates the guards so they know exactly what is happening. As she gets close she tells Barbara to disable the Batmobiles countermeasure systems, as much as she hates it (and boy is that a lot) she knows that if Harley is there with Gordon then she'd have no problem using him as a meat shield. Harley is no longer there when she arrives so she has to settle for kicking the crap out of the goons who where stupid enough to get away with TAKING A BAT TO HER CAR! How dare they! She will admit that it is therapeutic braking their bones though, the boys won't judge her for it (this time) since they love the Batmobile as much as she does. Speaking of her sons, she's so glad that Tim's explosive gel is still in the boot from the last time he took it out for a spin. Once she's grabbed it she sets up a crime scene around the car to see if she can find any clues as to where Harley's taken Gordon, she finds his favourite smoking pipe and calls Barbara with the update.

"Oracle, I found a pipe. It has your father's initials carved on it."  
"It was a birthday gift I gave him last year. There's no way he'd leave it."  
"Exactly, he's left me a trail to follow. He's alive, Barbara!" She says before she ends the call, she knows how much she needs to hear good news right now.

Once the spike of hope settles she turns on her 'Detective mode' and follows the new trail. It may be a little childish to draw little bats with the explosive gel but it's not like anyone is going to see them so she has her little bit of fun. She blows a hole in an unstable part of walling around one of the locked outer doors, she could have sworn that she put enough money into this place that it wouldn't HAVE unstable walls but that was a question for Bryce Wayne to ask not Batman so she stores it in the back of her mind and soldiers on. The trail leads back to the Arkhum asylum though all visible ways in are locked, unluckily for them she's an expert in getting into places using the invisible. It takes her no time to find the weak section of roofing, one 'exploding bat' later she's making her way back down to the main floor so she can try and pick up Gordon's tobacco trail again. She arrives just in time to hear the Joker order his goons to round up all of the doctors, well, this is going to be a problem... And she's right because of course she is, sometimes she hates it but at lease no one's dead yet and the room has gargoyles. Her one true friend in this world. Her strategist consists mostly of stealth take downs and exploding walls, a nice balance between quiet and loud. Slowly but surely she clears out the room then she makes her way over to the cowering doctors, she also picks up Gordon's tobacco trail when she touches down which is a bonus.

"I don't know what happened. One minuet we where doing our rounds, and the next, armed thugs burst into the room and took us hostage" one of the doctors tells her  
"Did they have anyone with them?" she asks  
"They took someone into the elevator, I couldn't tell who it was"  
"They obviously didn't want anyone to follow them. The elevator seems to be powered down. You're going to be OK here!"  
"We'll be fine."  
"What about the others? We heard gun fire. They could be dead! We should go help." another doctor cuts in  
"Oh no, I forgot! Doctor Kellerman was in the Patient Observation room and Doctor Chen went to surgery." The first doctor says  
"And Doctor Young went to X-Ray" the second adds  
"OK! Stay here. I'll find the other doctors" she promises before she turns to leave, time is of the essence.

She makes her way to X-Ray first as it's the closest location to her, Doctor Young is in the observation room off to the side with a bunch of goons who all have their guns pointed at her. It would be difficult to attack them outright without getting her shot so instead she decides on a sneaker route. She finds two weak walls that are just out of Doctor Young's range and draws her bats then steps back and detonates them both at the same time. Her calculations are correct and when the smoke clears doctor Young is the only one left standing.

"What's going on? They were talking like that where in control. Is it true that Joker escaped?" Doctor Young asks  
"unfortunately, yes. But not for long"  
"I've been studying Joker's case for months when he broke out. Warden was very clear that he wanted Joker cured"  
"Bad publicity will affect his campaign for mayor" She says slightly exasperated  
"That will be the least of his... God, I almost forgot. They said that they were moving through the facility. Hunting down the other doctors!"  
"Don't worry, doctor. I rescued you first and now I'll go and search the other rooms. You wait here. It's dangerous out there." She says before she leaves, one down two to go.

She find Doctor Chen by himself strapped to one of the surgical chairs, it's a trap obviously but it's not like she has a choice. 

"Batman!" Doctor Chen says when he sees her  
"Don't worry, your safe now" she assures  
"But... but it's a trap!"  
"I know, just not for me" her eyes dart to the TV screens just as the Joker appears on them  
"Gasp, It really is true! You really are the worlds greatest detective. How did you do that, darling? Oh, what the hell. Get down there boys! See if _he_ can detect being punched in the face!" She doesn't waist anytime, as soon as the first goons feet touch the floor she launches herself at them, it's over quite fast if she honest. Joker's goons must be losing there touch.   
"Don't get to full of your self, darling. I'm just softening ya up! Think of this as the preview to the main event! You'll see!" he sounds bitter, good.  
"I'm sorry. I tried to tell you. I couldn't speak" Doctor Chen says remorsefully.  
"Relax, you're safe now. I'll handle these low-life thugs" she says then leaves, one left.

Joker decides to plague her journey to the third doctor with more of his nonsense, though knowing that he's let two of the inmates out does help her prepare slightly. She makes it to the corridor just outside Patient Observation and finds the room flooded with Joker's gas, Cash is inside with Doctor Kellerman keeping him alive but it doesn't look like the doctor has long. 

"Cash, what happened?" She asks  
"There was an alarm in medical. I heard someone shouting and found the Doc lying on the floor. When I went to help him the room was flooded with gas. These doors locked down. We can't get out. Don't know how long we can last." Cash replies, she always did like how strait forward he was.  
"How brave! Let's give Mr. Cash a great big hand! He could use one" Joker cuts in much to everyone annoyance  
"You'll be laughin' out your butt when I get outta here" Cash snarls back then addresses her again  
"Joker's filled the room with gas and we're trapped in here. I can sit in here all night, but the over there ain't lookin' to good"

She finds a vent and makes her way into the room, she's thankful that Joker's gas is quite heavy and doesn't actually reach the ceiling. She walks along the metal vents until she finds a vantage point then she throws her batarang at an electrical box, activating the ventilation on that level. Once the gas goes down she jumps down a level as finds a new vantage point. She does this until her boots hit the floor and all of the rooms ventilation is re-activated.

"We lock him up, he gets out and more people die. If I just had one moment alone with that animal.." Cash growls as she gets close, Doctor Kellerman just leans ageist a wall and breaths deeply. She trusts Cash to protect the doctor so she makes her way back to the first group she came across, hopefully they have figured out how to get the lift working... It would seen that they didn't, shame.  
"Did you find them? Are they OK?" the first doctor she talked too asked  
"Yes, they're safe now" she assures  
"Batman!" Cash calls out as he walks in with Doctor Young  
"We've got another problem!" great, just what she needs. Doctor Young walks right up to her.  
"I need to get back to the mansion. All of my research notes are there. We can't risk Joker getting his hands on them" Oh god, is she trying to get herself killed.  
"It's not safe doctor. The island's a war zone. you won't stand a chance"  
"It's my lives work. You really don't have the authority to..." Oh My God, why are people always lie this?  
"I'll get her there, Batman. If you ask me it's about time for a little payback!" Cash says to cut her off  
"I don't like it, but..." she hears the elevator beep  
"Who ordered the elevator?" she asks  
"Wasn't us. It's coming from the lower floor!" one of the doctors said.  
"Cash, get Doctor Young! Get her notes and then find somewhere safe to hole up! Everyone else, go to the Observations room. Barricade yourselves in!" she orders then grapples onto one of the gargoyles,she watches them scramble to follow her orders. They mange to just as the elevator doors open. Surprise, surprise, it's goons.

She manages to take most of them out silently, only really having to confront a few head on. She's already covered in bullet bruises, what's a few more. When the last man falls she makes her way into the still open elevator. It closes and descends without her pressing a button meaning that Joker has control, she's not worried though. He's having to much fun with this new clue to her identity to kill her now.

"Too easy! Think about it. I've got you trapped in a metal box. Hanging precariously over a deadly drop! What say I just blow the emergence breaks and drop you like a bag of puppies? Say goodbye, Darling" she just glares at him  
"Boom! Only kidding. Got a few more surprises for you. Prepare to face your worst fears. All of them!" the TV cuts out as he laughs, great. As soon as the doors open she hears the cries of doctors  
"Doctor Crane, please don't do this!"  
"There is no Crane... There is only Scarecrow!" a voice she recognises says, it fills her with dread. The room in front of her is filled with panicking people, one even throws himself ageist the glass. In the flashing lights she sees the shadow of a man with needle point fingers. It darts out of the room, she darts after it and finds her pathway blocked by metal bars. Well Fuck.


	4. Bryce HATES Scarecrow.

"Oh! It looks like the good doctor has started early. Your appointment isn't for hours. I'm sure you'll be buzzed through when he's ready. Tell me, Darling. What are you really scared of? Failing this cesspool of a city? Not finding the Commissioner in time? Me, in a thong?" Joker cackles over the speakers, she ignores him again and blows up a wall. 

The hall way she end up in seems to be more of an in-between area which is strange, she doesn't remember seeing it on the blue prints. As she turns a corner she sees Gordon, he's lying on the floor clutching onto a vent grate. He spots her through the gate and begs her for help before he's dragged away. She does a quick sweep of the room and finds a weaker vent gate to her left, she wastes no time in ripping it off the wall and crawling through. It the back of her mind she hazily notes that the world is tilting a bit but ignores it, helping Gordon is more important. She can see him slumped over ageist a wall as she comes to the vent exit, she kicks the vent grate off then rushes over to him... She can't feel a pulse... FUCK. She reaches up and gently closes his eyes then calls Barbara.

"Barbara? I... I'm sorry. I was to late."  
"I'm sorry. The number you have dialled isn't available. Please leave a message after the tone." Barbara reply's making Bryce confused.  
"Barbara! Are you there?"  
"Please hang up your phone!" She says then the tine cuts off. Bryce is even more confused, the world is leaning slightly to the left, Barbara's phone has been disconnected and now the floors are covered in cockroaches! What is going on? 

The world straitens as she enters the morgue and she thinks that the weirdness is over but then she hears it, slowly whispers start reaching her ears. They are quite at first but soon they are shouting for her to leave, saying that she doesn't belong. She can't take it anymore, she pushes the door open and steps out... She's still in the morgue but the voices are gone. In their place are three body-bags, the one on the right starts laughing and wriggling. Someone is alive in there, slowly she reaches over and opens it... 

"Father..." She whispers in horror  
"You should have stood up to him, daughter, like a Wayne!" she backs away fro him, the body bag behind her jerks drawing her attention. She swallows and opens it.  
"Mom?" she chocks out  
"Help us, Bryce! Don't let us die!" The last bag jerks, her hands tremble as she reaches for it. Scarecrow bursts out of it and she falls, she uses the metal table to pull herself up and waits a moment for the dizzy spell to pass then she turns around and finds out that she's floating in some kind of hell space. In the distance she spots the Bat Signal and realises that she must have been dosed with Scarecrows fear toxin. She jump across a floating platform and pulls herself up, just as her feet touch the ground the world around her rumbles and a gigantic version of Scarecrow sticks his needle covered hand over the crumbling wall.   
"Poor little Bat. Your in my world now!" Well shit.

She parkours up the flouting platforms whilst avoiding his sight until she finally makes her way to the Bat Signal, she pushes it so that the light is shining right in his face. He screams as he falls and suddenly, she's back in the morgue with a massive head ache.

"Can you hear me? Bryce! What's going on?" Barbara says over her comm unit, she sounds worried which means she's called Dick and Tim.  
"Oracle, I'm OK" hopefully she'll relay that to the boys  
"What happened? I lost contact. Are you sure your all right? Have you found my dad?"  
"Had a little run-in with Scarecrow, slowed me down. I'll get back to you in a bit." she hangs up before Barbara can reply and makes her way out of the morgue.

There are arrows drawn onto the floor, how long was she in there for? She'll figure it out later, she follows them because she doesn't have any other way to go. She feels slightly bad about how grateful she is that the body isn't actually Gordon, the fear toxin must have affected her more than she thought. Joker choose that moment to try to torment her over the speakers.

"Are you lost, little bat? Having trouble figuring out what's a figment of your twisted little mind? Same here. Just roll with it, Darling. It gets easier when you give in. It really does." She grits her teeth and carries on, she's a patient woman but she's starting to loose her temper. 

She enters an observation room, in the room below her are Harley and Gordon. Joker tells her that if she can get to them before anyone patrolling the room containing the entrance that she can have Gordon then he make a snarky remark about Jason's death, she launches the Batarang at the TV before she realises making him laugh. She makes her take-down of his men extra violent in retaliation. Harley doesn't see her coming, then again, who expected their enemy to do a falling take down from an exploding ceiling?

"You took longer than I thought" Gordon grumbles as she unties him.  
"He's out of control. He's trying to prove something. I'm not sure I can stop him this time." she informs him.  
"Batman, listen. We're not alone. He's got something else down there, I don't know what it is."  
"What a blabbermouth. Spoiling the surprise" Joker cuts in from the TV  
"Be quiet!" she growls  
"Oh. Am I getting to you? Am I? Good. Your going to love this next bit." She ignores him and walks with Gordon to the unusual room. Gordon walks towards the computer.  
"It want's Doctor Young's log-in." He says as he types.  
"Never mind that. Get behind me. Now!" She hisses.  
"Bane" she says in slight shock. He's hung from the ceiling tubes and wires, he is also very skinny. Something's wrong.  
"I thought he broke out of Blackgate!" Gordon exclaims as he backs away.  
"Cut me down..." Bane rasps  
"Who did this to you?" she asks.  
"Doctor Young. The 'bruja' She drained the venom from my blood. Must... stop... her..." he rasps in reply  
"Sorry, Has-bane. The good doctor won't be a problem much longer. How do you like my puppet? What say we cut him down?" Joker cuts in, again, then presses a red button. She watches in horror (on the inside) as the venom is put back inside Bane.  
"Gordon run!" she yells as he breaks free of his restraints. Bane comes running at her, she dodges the first few hits and even manged to punch him in the face before he picks her up and tosses her through a wall. It hurts like hell but she doesn't have time to care because he's following her through.   
"Play nice, ladies!" Joker purrs before the speakers cut off.

He charges at her again and she has to roll to the side to avoid him, the next time he tries she tosses a Batarang at his face. It works! While he's distracted she makes a few quick attacks then disconnects some of the tubes connected to the venom before diving out of his way. It becomes a dance of sorts, even the sudden appearance of Joker's goons don't change much since Bane doesn't care about their safety. Once the last tube is disconnected the room starts trembling, then the ceiling starts caving in. She's quite lucky that it lands on Bane and not her but she's not going to push her luck, she finds a stable opening and grapples out. After a little while of crawling through an unused sewer (thank god) she finds a manhole which she opens so that she can escape. She holds on to her arm for a moment willing the pain to die then she activates the autopilot on her Batmoblie. Gordon put's his hand on her shoulder.

"Batman! You OK?"  
"I'm fine, Jim. Where's Quinn?"  
"Gone! Must have gotten loose while Bane was throwing you around"  
"We need to get you off the island."  
"I'm not a rookie, I can handle myself" her answer is cut off by Bane bursting through the wall. He grabs her and lifts her into the air.  
"I will break you Batman! Then the 'bruja'!" he shouts into her face.  
"No, Bane. This time I'll break you!" she snarls as the sound of the Batmobile grows, as it comes barrelling down the road Bane looks towards it. She uses his distraction to kick off of his chest, The Batmobile slams into his side and both of them go off the side and into the water bellow. The boys are going to kill her.


	5. The boys are NOT happy...

Walking Gordon up to the boat is a huge relief, one less thing she has to worry about on this god forsaken island. Once she sees him safely driven away she calls Barbara.

"Oracle, go through the city's computers! Pull up everything you have on Dr Young. I'll go through everything once I get to the cave."  
"A Batcave? On Arkhum Island?" Barbara says in disbelief  
"I built it years ago. It's best to plan ahead for situations like this."  
"How'd you manage to keep this a secret?"  
"It's me, remember?"  
"So you think that Dr Young has been experimenting with venom, the same chemical that turns Bane into that animal?"  
"Yes, I'm worried. Bane seemed even more powerful than usual. Joker wants the venom, and that can only be trouble. I'm heading to dead mans point in Arkhum north. I'll contact you once I'm in the Batcave." She hangs up and smirks, it's good that she can still surprise them every once in a while.

On the way she finds a group of goons painting the door to the Visitation room. After clearing them out she lets curiosity get the better of her and she enters. On ether side of her there are cubicles like the ones in normal prisons, in the one at the opposite end is the Joker with a TV for a head. As soon as she gets close it turns on.

"Come in, sit down, take off your mask. So, Darling, I was thinking. You really could use a friend in here. Some one to talk to, to share secrets with. Shall we start with the big one? Who's behind the mask? Why do you feel the need to fight people like me? Do you really think you can win? We'll see." Well... That was a big waste of time, this is what happens when she lets curiosity win.  
"Whats the deal with Dead Man's point? It's been a favourite suicide location on Arkhum Island for over 100 years." Barbara asks after she's left to continue her trek to the Batcave.  
"Yeah, I know. I once saved an unfortunate inmate from leaping off onto the rocks bellow. I found a cave entrance and over the years have moved a number of supplies here. It's a regular home away from home." She answers.

As she walks up the ledge and jumps off she feel a rare sense of freedom, the wind raps around her as she glides and fills her with a sense of empowerment. She can do this, for moments like this she could brave anything. She lands at the Batcave's entrance and lets herself be brought back to the present. Oracle connects as soon as she sits down.

"Dr Young was heading up a project. It was big, lots of external funding. Here are the last notes she filled. I can't make sense of it; What does it mean?"  
"... Looks like she was experimenting on the Arkhum patients. The new chemical only barely resembles the original venom compound. There are a number of changes that appear to amplify the strength of the drug. Multiple references to a Titan formula. Even a small amount could trigger a venom-like transformation in the host, eliminating the need for the storage tank Bane requires.... Hang on, these notes aren't complete. The formula is missing! That must be the secret that Dr Young is hiding. If Joker gets his hands on this he will create an army of a thousand Bane's." She pushes herself out of the chair and goes over to her supplies. She pulls out an upgraded Batclaw that she attaches to the end of her grappling hook gun.  
"God! Is Joker crazy enough to do that? What am I saying? You've got to stop him!" Barbara says, slightly panicked.  
"I'm going after her. She was heading to the mansion with Cash. I'm going up top via the catacombs."  
"The fuck you are!" Tim snarls from one of the computer screens, she sighs and turns back to the computers. Tim is dressed in his Robin suit with Dick dressed as Nightwing pacing behind him, looks like Dick decided to come to Gotham and tell Tim what was happening in person. Just what she needs right now, _truly_.  
"Tim..."  
"No mom! What the hell is happening down there?" She sighs  
"It's not that bad Tim."  
"I'm sorry, how is A THOUSAND BANE'S _NOT THAT BAD!_ " Dick yells as he storms over, Barbara gives her an 'your on you own' look and hangs up. Rude, this is all her fault in the first place.  
"Because it's not happened yet but it will if I don't get to Dr Young first." they both watch her for a moment then Tim speaks up.  
"Fine, we'll meet you top side mother."  
"You will NOT!" she growls, making them growl in turn. It's times like these that she knew that these brats were hers.  
"What? You can't be serious mom!" Dick snarls  
"I am. Look, I'm stuck here until I fix this which means that if you both come here as well then Gotham will be without defenders." she looks at them both and sighs.  
"I have things handled here OK? If you both REALLY want to help then help Barbara out by finding the bombs that Joker has placed around Gotham so that she can focus on Dr Young." Take the bait, _take the bait_.  
"...Fine!" they both hiss before they hang up, she sighs in relief then heads to the catacombs.

"Digging deeper into Dr Young. According to her bank records, there have been multiple payments, starting last April until two months ago. Then nothing. The payments came from a company owned by a Mister Jack White" Barbara says like she didn't just leave Bryce to the proverbial sharks.  
"One of Joker's oldest aliases. So. Joker pays Dr Young to create his army and then all of a sudden he stops. Doesn't make any sense." she says, what was this asshloe planing? She tries to open the door in front of her but then jumps back when Killer Croc punches the doors window leaving a big crack in the glass.  
"I will fine you. Rip your flesh like paper." He growls as he leaves, well, she now knows which way she ISN'T going.

The catacombs would be beautiful in any other setting but right now they are annoying, to old for her grappling hook to safely carry her weight meaning that she has to parkour up to the top. Yay. Barbara calls her as she makes her way up.

"Hey! This is weird. The payments didn't stop exactly,they were declined. Dr Young put a block on her account."  
"Sounds like she had a change of heart. She tried to block the payments. Joker doesn't like it when his partners try to back out."  
"So he decided to get himself back to Arkhum, find the formula and create the army himself!"  
"Exactly!" she jumps onto a crumbling walkway and almost falls off.  
"I've hacked into her email accounts. Two emails stand out. The first is a resignation letter, dated last week. Sounds like she was trying to get away."  
"And the second?"  
"A message from Joker, well, Jack White. It's a long thread. She's begging to stop the experiment. Says it's to dangerous. He's not listening. Lets see, random threats to her family, a couple bad jokes... a picture of a dead baby and a threat!"  
"Go on."  
"He says, I'm coming for you! I want what I payed for! And then another joke about wheelchairs, _lovely._.. And a picture of some kind of donkey."  
"No mystery why she's so scared. I'm coming to the surface. I'll find her." Barbara hangs up and she refocuses on her climb.

Leaving the catacombs gives her a little spark of joy, the reason she has the grappling gun in the first place is so she doesn't have to climb that much. Her fist breath of fresh air is ruined by Joker's announcement over the speakers and the fact that his goons seem to have found sniper rifles. Just Fucking Great.


	6. Bryce REALLY HATES Scarecrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my batman out of the suit :D  
> (https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/461619030555741086/)
> 
> P.s. I did not draw this, it's just my inspiration :P

Taking out the snipers is simple since they are to busy looking for her in front of them to expect her to be coming up behind them, that doesn't mean that she not still pissed off about the fact that that she has to deal with them in the first place. Her life was getting hard enough without having to spot snipers on top of everything else. She enters the east side of Arkhum and finds the statue of Warden Sharp on fire... as well as more snipers. _Lovely_. Joker also takes the time to warn his goons that she's on the way, because her life wasn't hard enough already. 

She gets into the old mansion through one of the outside vents, she's not stupid enough to try walking through the front door no matter how many times the boys say she has a death wish. The first thing she encounters is goons, not that she expected any different but it would be nice if that wasn't the first thing she saw every time she entered a new place, really nice. She hears Joker giving his goons an update. Bad new, Joker has Dr Young. Good news, she's holding on. All Bryce has to do is get to her before she cracks and she can stop this. She enters the library only to be told by Joker that he has two Doctors trapped with his gas that's set to go off in two minutes. She hopes that Sharpe doesn't mind the fact that she has to cut down his giant chandelier to rescue them. She can buy him a new one, it'll be fine... So the gas turned out to be a giant gift with a large boxing glove on a spring... She's not impressed.

"Thank you Batman, are they all gone?" one of the Doctors asks her.  
"Yes, you're safe! What happened?"  
"It all happened so fast. Some patients broke in. Began tearing up the place. Like they were looking for something. I tried to fight back but there were too many! They took Doctor Young. She rushed in here and they followed!"  
"I'm sorry. When I came to, we where all tied up. Doc Young was gone!" The guard with them adds, slightly downcast.

On her way to find Dr Young and her note she discovers a single goon pointing a gun at to guards, she takes him down silently which doesn't do much good because as soon as his unconscious the collar around his neck starts screeching.

"What's that collar do? Why is it making that noise?" she growls  
"It's a suicide collar! But it sounds weird."  
"Suicide collar?"  
"Well they've got some other name, but, well, we use 'em to monitor the patients heartbeats. If it drops to low an alarm goes off and a crash team rushes in."  
"And so does my crew if you trigger one. How do you like them apples, Darling? Standing around in the... hmm, lets see... ah, the west wing. Well they'd be there now if they weren't knocking a little sense into Cash. I'll tell you what, I won't spoil the surprise and let them that you're coming." The screen cuts off, god, she hates that man.

It turns out that Cash is in the next room surrounded by armed goons, she silently cracks her knuckles and gets to work. Cash spends the whole fight sassing the two goons beating him up until she takes them down too.

"Thanks" Cash says when she cuts them lose.  
"Where did Dr Young go?"  
"I told her to run. These guys came in looking for her. I told her to go to her office and hide."  
"Does she keep her records there?"  
"I guess! She was pretty desperate to get in there! Her office is over there!"  
"How long ago was this? I need to find her notes before Joker gets his hands on them!"  
"20 minutes? Maybe more. What's so important about the notes?"  
"Joker wants them. That makes them important. Stay here! I'm going to find her."  
"Not a problem. I'll try the radio. See if anyone else is around."

Joker decides that he want's to talk to her as soon as she's alone, it's highly annoying and she wishes that he wouldn't. Why couldn't he be like other villain's who ignored her until she was punching them in the face?

"Going after the notes yourself, eh, Darling? Good luck! I've got a friend working over the Doctor as we speak! They'll squeeze the formula out of her soon enough. Not to mention the army of clowns ripping this place apart. One way or another, the formula will be mine. Why don't you just give up? Roll over and die of once! Be your best friend!" And that is her cue to hurry up. Anyone Joker claims as a friend is bad news.

Finding Dr Young's office is easy, finding the three goons trying to break in is predictable and knocking them out before they could register her presence is a natural conclusion. The door to the office is locked but that doesn't matter with the vent just up the stairs that leads directly in. The safe is already open which is not good at all, there is no sign of forced entry though which means that someone would have to know the combination to get in. A quick look into the rooms security camera's confirms her suspicions, Dr Young was the one to open the safe and get out the notes. Know the Doctor it's likely that she's hidden them and not destroyed them, meaning that she has a trail to follow. It's as simple as pulling the Doctors prints off of the safe door and see where she has touched. 

"Oracle, I'm on Dr Young's trail. I've had to calibrate the scanner to only show resent prints. If I follow these, I will find her or the notes."  
"I hope it works. Just so you know, the GCPD found one of Joker's bombs downtown. It was full of marzipan and kittens. Nightwing and Robin are **not** happy but I've convinced them to keep searching for the rest. Just in case." Oh thank god.  
"As I thought, it's just a twisted diversion. The real actions on Arkhum." The line clicks off and she focuses on following the prints.

The prints take her through the door, down two sets of stairs and through two more rooms. She ends up back in the library where she spots a book that is slightly out of place, on closer inspection she finds it covered in the Doctors fingerprints. Opening the book reviles the notes, Bryce sprays some of her ~~Tim's~~ explosive gel on them then calls Oracle with the news.

"Oracle. I found Dr Young's formula."  
"Great! so does that mean that you've stopped the Joker?" Barbara sounds excited, she hates to burst her bubble like this but...  
"It's never this simple with him." and she's proven right when he decides to speak at her again.  
"What have you got there, Darling? No! Not the formula. What am I going to do? Who will help me now? What's that? How about our old friend Zsasz? Hmmm, I did bump into him on the way back to the gardens, where no doat he was enacting one of his twisted fantasies. Maybe he can get her talking? I think that he probably can. Great plan, Darling." Shit, she needs to find the Doctor, fast. 

Finding out that the only way forward is to go through Scarecrow's fear toxin sucks, hopefully knowing that she's being dosed will make it easier. It starts off normal but Bryce assumes that it's because the toxin has just entered her system, she's right of course because soon it starts to rain and the hall she enters never ends. Then she hears it, it makes her skin crawl. She is going to **kill** Scarecrow for this.

"I can't believe you insisted on sitting through that movie again, Bryce. Come on. We'll be late for Alfred." Her dad says. She knows what night this is, that bastard!  
"I'm sorry Daddy." she hears herself whisper, she can get through this. She just has to keep moving.  
"Go easy on her, Tom. She loved it so. Alfred will wait. Keep up, Bryce!" her mother says, she can feel her emotions start to get the better of her.  
"Where are you taking us?" her mother asks  
"We can cut through here." her father says  
"But it's starting to rain. Bryce is tiered! Can't we just wait for him here?" Her mother sighs.  
"Come on, keep up. We're nearly there!" Her father says with a laugh. Suddenly the hall changes into a familiar alley way, she feels like she's drowning.  
"Hold it, Lady" a distorted voice growls  
"Oh God!" Her mother shouts  
"Please! There is no need for this!" Her father says gently.  
"Stay where you are. I'll shot!" the voice says again. No, please!  
"I'll give you whatever you want." Her father says before he's shot. NO!!!  
"Daddy!" little her shouts  
"Tom. Oh god, oh god. Tom." her mother cries.  
"Be quiet Lady. Just shut up. Give me those pearls." the man growls.  
"Stay away from me! Run, Bryce!" her mother shouts. Another shot goes off and suddenly she can see the bodies of her parents.  
"Mommy!" Tiny her cries out. She can't help but stumble and fall to her knees, why is this happening? She doesn't understand! They never did anything wrong!

When she pushes herself up she sees that she's no longer Batman, now she's little tiny Bryce in her fancy dress covered in her parents blood.  
"C'mon, kid, this way. Take a seat in my office. Is she OK?" A younger Gordon asks.  
"She'll be fine. Kid like that, with all that money. She'll be just fine." An unknown officer says.  
"Shut up. Now! She's 8 years old and all alone. Money won't fix that." Gordon growls  
"What ever you say, Gordon. Her butler is on the way to pick her up. You hear that? She's got a butler." the other one says.  
"I'm sorry about that. I need to ask you a few questions. Can I get you anything? You OK? I know you don't feel like answering me, but it's the only way to catch who did this." Gordon says gently.  
"Why did he do it, Officer? Why?" she hears herself say. It brings her out of her funk to hear herself say the words but not open her mouth, she suddenly remembers what is happening and it makes her **angry**.  
"I don't know. It's this city. Somethings wrong with it. And listen, kid, call me Jim." 

She opens the door and becomes Batman again, she ends up in another floating abyss with another Batlight. She snarls her way through the jumping and climbing she has to do to get to it before she pushes the light into his face, she hopes that it fucking hurts. She wakes up in the top of the clock tower, she knows what she has to do. She launches one of her Batarangs into the wire holding up the towers bell, sending the massive thing crashing to the floor. It takes down the electric gate blocking her way to the Wardens office where she's sure Zsasz has Dr Young.


	7. The unfortunate fate of Dr Young.

Joker is still determined to be an asshole it would seem, as soon as he spots her on the cameras littered around he decides to make fun of her. Yes, Joker, she knows that every second she being emotionally tortured Dr Young is being physically tortured. So nice of you to remind her that her pain and suffering causes more for others as well, just what she needed. She focuses on ignoring him and walks through the door where Zsasz is waiting with a knife to Dr Young's throat.

"Stay where you are, Batman! Listen to me very carefully." Zsasz says as he drags Dr Young into the room behind him.  
"Help me! Please, somebody help me!" Dr Young begs  
"Come any closer and I'll paint the room crimson with her blood! I know you're still out there! Won't be long until you hear her final song!" Zsasz adds  
"Zsasz... What are you talking about? Just kill her. She's useless to me now." Joker growls over the speakers. Shit, she was too late. The boys are going to kill her.  
"But if I kill her, the bat will get me!"  
"You're not scared of a little bat, are you, Slicey?" She's sick of this conversation, she plants herself behind one of the doors. She breathes in then as she breathes out she leaves her cover and launches one of her batarangs at Zsasz. 

It hits him strait in the face and he goes down. Dr Young immediately starts beating his body with her fists.  
"You monster! You evil, evil, evil monster!" she cries  
"He's not going anywhere. You can stop now" Bryce says gently as she helps her up  
"Sorry... I'm so sorry!"  
"I saw Bane."  
"Joker threatened me. I wanted to stop the experiment. I tried to give him his money back."  
"Joker doesn't take no for an answer!"  
"He wants an army. A horrible twisted force to destroy Gotham. But he couldn't do it without the formula. I hid it, but..." She cuts Dr Young off  
"So now he has Venom, and your formula"  
"God, he has gallons of the stuff. There's a lab, hidden in the gardens. It's locked off the the security key codes for the entire island are in the Warden's safe"   
"What else is Joker planning?" She asks  
"How should I know? You think anything he says makes sense? I think he's insane... Oh my God!" Dr Young says as she pulls the Warden's Plaque to the side.  
"Get out of the way!" She shouts as she tries to move forward but then the safe explodes sending her flying back, she's knocked unconscious for an unknown amount of time but when she comes to Harley is walking past her.

"Poor Dr Young. Still, you know how Mr J hates a squealer." Harley says happily as she stands over her.  
"Talkin' about squealers." Harley says as she walks over to Warden sharp who is being held by goons. She uses his cane to jag him in the stomach.  
"Somebody help me!" he shouts, in retaliation Harley smashes the cane across his face hard enough for the top to snap off.  
"That old loonie actually thinks that he runs this place! Talk about crazy! Well, Bats. Got to go! Get him boys! If he gets up, knock him back down, but not too rough. Mr J needs him at the party!" Harley shouts as she drags the Warden away and Bryce is suddenly surrounded by goons.

... She's a little offended that Harley thinks that four goons is going to be enough to keep her down. It's almost like Harley doesn't know her at all, she makes quick work of them mostly to prove a point then she calls Barbara.

"Oracle. Dr Young is dead. Have you figured out a way past these security gates? Before she died, she told me there's a production plant hidden somewhere in the Gardens."  
"The WayneTech security protocols seem to be hack-proof. Lucius did a good job. It's a two-part electric sequence apparently generated by the Warden, using a code sequencer"  
"And destroyed by Joker in the safe explosion. Harley Quinn has the Warden, he's the only chance we have to get through these gates."  
"OK. Good luck." Barbara says before she hangs up.

She kneels down and scans the broken to of Warden Sharp's cane and finds traces of his blood on it, a look up tells her that she now has a new trail to follow. She pushes herself up and walks back out of the room, she needs to get that code sequencer! Just as she's about to head out of the mansion she hears Harley and the Warden arguing over the speakers, its cut short by Harley striking him. She needs to hurry. Just outside the door is a unconscious guard strung up by his ankle, she cuts him down and continues on her way. Harley is amusing herself by having the warden read off things that she wrote so Bryce has a pretty good idea where she is. Now she has to find a way to get there. She ends up having to climb through some more vents but at this point that has become second nature to her. As she gets further in she starts hearing a large commotion, this can't be good.... she is entirely correct because after going through a doorway that required a full body scan she is greeted with the actual insane inmates here at Arkhum, they are still caged but with her luck she knows that won't be the case for long. She goes through another full body scan door and is greeted by Poison Ivy, as if her night could get any worse.

"Stop! Stop! Batman. Please! You've got to help my babies!" Poison Ivy cries out as she pushes herself up and goes right up to the glass wall separating them.  
"I'm really not interested in a bunch of flowers, Ivy" She says  
"They're in pain! Crying for help!" Poison Ivy cries again, the ethereal quality of her voice curling in her worry. It's tempting but the threat of the Joker takes precedence, she may end up solving the plant issue at the same time. It's how her night is going after all.  
"Just stay where you are! Last thing I need is you running free!" It's true, she really doesn't need more on her plate right now.  
"Poor children. I'll save you!" Poison Ivy whines as she sits back down, great. Well she's defiantly getting out now, fuck.

She enters the security office and finds him tied up in his chair, there is a glass cell just to the side containing Cash who yells about being locked in there by Harley but Bryce isn't stupid. There is a big **Danger** sign right next to the wall informing her that this is clayface so she ignores him. As soon as she enters the security room a live stream of Harley walking down the hall starts up and she is forced to watch as Harley lets Poison Ivy go, the screen switches to Joker's face.

"I could watch those two all day! What a riot! Speaking of riots..." He says as he leans back in his chair and puts his feet on the desk.  
"Here's a bit of civil unrest I cooked up just for you!" He clicks the button in his hands, in the distance she hears cell doors swing open. Great. She can feel herself glaring as she slices through the ropes binding the Warden.  
"He's taken control of the security overrides. I have the sequence generate, but without the terminal in my office, it's useless." Warden Shape says with his head hanged.  
"Your terminal has been destroyed. Give me the sequencer!"  
"What? Oh... Yes, of course." he says as he pats himself down, when he finds the sequencer he hands it to her.  
"It's useless. Half the codes won't get you anywhere. We're trapped in here." she ignores him and puts the sequencer into her analyser then tosses it back to him and opens it up. She waits for it to download then she uses it's new function to deactivate the security room electrical gate.  
"You stay here. Lock this gate when I leave." she orders then leaves before he can reply. Now that she can take down electrical gates getting around should be easier, finding Joker should be too. She doesn't know where exactly this secret lab in the gardens is but she knows who does, she also needs to have a chat with Harley about manners so it's a win win.

As she enters the main cell aria Harley jumps out, she blathers on for a little then she activates the electrical plates on the floor around the cells. Well... this sucks.


	8. Bye Bye Harley

... So getting shocked be the floor hurts and she is defiantly having Lucius add rubber to the soles of her boots but in the end she does manage to get the floor plates deactivated. You know, after she beats the shit out of the goons Harley leaves guarding the activation switch while the woman in question uses the overhead light like a swing. She watches in displeasure as Harley uses the momentum she had built up to send herself into one of the hallways leading out of the room, the electrical gate jumping into action seconds later. Harley was slippery she would give her that. 

With the deactivation of the electrical floor plates she's able to get to the control panle for the electrical gate, its so much easier to get around now that she has a way to get passed them instead of finding a way around them. She find Harley in the room at the end of the hallway behind protective glass, in front of her are two guards hanging over pools of water with live wires in them.

"look who's finally turned up! The dork knight himself! hows it hanging, bats? Got a little problemo for ya! See those two guards over there? I know. Shocking! How ya going to save them?" Harley says with a cheeky smile. 'Quite easily' she thinks to herself as she uses her sequencer to deactivate the power. Harley cries about her cheating as she launches two batarangs at the ropes holding the guards up, both of them scramble to get out of the water before the power reactivates. Harley being Harley has a back up plan and the big obvious gift sitting in front of one of the pools opens and reviles a boom. It has a two minute timer which is just **_great_**. And to make the whole thing worse Harley decides to lock them in the room with it but she seems to forget that Bryce now has a way to fry electrical gates, one semi exploding control box later the three of them are running out of the room and closing the door behind them.

"I thought that we were both going to die in there." one of the guards says while he catches his breath.  
"You're safe now" she assures them.  
"You going after that crazy witch? I saw her heading out the door as well got out of the room." he says again sounding a little better.  
"She won't get away. I'll stop her then her boyfriend." she says confidently.  
"Good. Listen, I'll go try to get the ventilation system working. If you find her, don't go easy on her. For me." he adds then he leaves.

She makes her way down the hall, through a room filled with electrical floor plates and down another hall filled with open cells before she winds Harley again. She's in the control room of one of the isolation transfer chambers and on the T.V. in front of the control room is Joker... this won't end well...

"here he comes, Mr J!" Harley says as she walks in.  
"Excellent! I'll leave it to you, then, my dear!" he says as he leans back.  
"Get him!" Harley cries out happily and a bunch of goons swarm in. The fight turns into a weird game of electrical hop scotch to avoid the areas were Harley activates the eletrical floor plates but in the end Bryce once again ends up victorious.  
"He's done it again. I don't believe it. I'm on my way now." Harley complains  
"Oops, change of plans, kiddo." Joker says with false sorrow.  
"But I tried my best!" Harley whines  
"Sorry, but there is no prize for second place. I'm afraid that you're off the party list. Better luck next time." He says with a laugh before he cuts off the conection.  
"No." Harley cries as she leaves the control room.... did she just witness a break up?  
"Die you big ugly bat!" Harley snarls as she runs over, she does a few flips and then tries to kick her in the face but Bryce catches her and throws her into one of the railings before calmily walking over. As she goes she notices a new tear in her suit, this one right across on of the bat wings and in certain angles shows the gap between her breasts. She'll need to be more carful now so that no one else finds out which is annoying. Once she reaches Harley she pulls out the 'party list' and reads the names on it some are crossed out so she can only assume that they have left Arkhum and are terrorizing Gotham, she secretly hopes that this will keep the boys busy. As she goes to put the list into one of her utility belt pockets Harley tries to punch her, in retaliation Bryce flips her onto her back then focusably scans her finger prints. She then drags her over to on of the cells and shoves her in, she is getting very bored with these games.

"You won't find Mr J, he's in the secret lab in the Gardens and... Oh, crap!" Harley says as she bangs on the bars.  
"Yup, I know" she says blandly because she kind of already assumed that he was there in the first place. The confirmation is nice though.  
"Damn, well he'll get me out! You'll see!" She yells as Bryce walks away.

"Oracle, I'm done. Harley is... subdued, and I have her prints scanned." she says with an amused huff  
"So you can find the secret lab in the gardens." Barbara says hopefully.  
"Yes. Harley has been everywhere on the island, so I'm calibrating the scanner to only show prints that show traces of chlorophyll." She adds  
"OK, listen. Be careful. I re-routed a Waynetech satellite to show thermal scans of the island. The Gardens are showing up hot. Something bad is happening there."  
"Which you didn't tell Nightwing and Robin about, right?" Barbara is silent for a moment then she hangs up. Sigh. 

Her way out of Arkhum is spent ignoring Joker as he tries to get a raise out of her and her walk through the court yard is spent punching crazy people but eventually she makes it to the Gardens where she just knows she will be encountering Poison Ivy. Oh what fun.


	9. Meeting Joker face to face once again

The garden is filled with goons which means that it's likely that Joker is still here. She picks them off one by one while Joker yells at them over the speakers. Once the last goon falls she makes her way deeper into the Gardens while following Harley's fingerprints. She walks through a doorway and finds Joker inside, he is at the other end of the room separated from her by the large flooded middle section. 

"You need to stop this now. Before it goes to far!" She calls out to him. He turns and she sees that he has a guard by the neck.  
"Stop? But everyone's dying to see what I do next!"  
"Let him go. Now!" she growls  
"Really? OK, if you say so, Darling" he says then kicks an electrical box into the water  
"Help me! Please!" the guard cries out as Joker shoves him into the water  
"Whoopsies" Joker laughs as she yells.  
" **No!** "  
"You really need to speed things up, Darling. At this rate you'll never catch me." he says casually as he walks away then, when he's at the end of the corridor, he blows the corridor up behind him with a mad laugh.

If she's going to follow him she's going to need to cut off the power which means she's going to have to back track. Great. The room with the breaker box is also filled with goons and a single janitor tied to a chair but she's once again able to make quick work of them, once she's done with the goons she cuts the janitor loose.

"Thanks. Are you OK?" the janitor asks firmly placing himself at the top of her favourite workers list, no one ever asks if **_she's_** alright.  
"I'm fine. I eat punks like this for breakfast. What are you doing here?" she asks  
"The ones that weren't hitting me went over there and started doing something to the power controls. I have no idea what they were doing." he admits. 

The breaker box has been rigged up with a Joker bomb but all it really does is stall her for a few seconds. She's sure Joker knows this though and she's resined to having to deal with these nascences for the rest of the night, having the looming threat of Poison Ivy doesn't help her mood. Joker starts monologging as she makes her way back to where she saw him last. She travels through the vent next to the blown up tunnel and ends up in what might be a section of the sewer, the area is closed off so she blows up one of the walls. At this rate she's going to need to buy Tim a new can. As she makes her way back into the garden she spots two goons kicking another janitor, she knocks them out and helps the janitor up.

"Are you OK?" she asks when he's standing.  
"They were going to kill me! We were in the aviary hiding out, they came in with Joker, shooting up the place, and loaded us up into cages." he's slightly hysterical in the beginning but calms down towards the end.  
"Are they still in there?" She asks  
"No, man, no one's come out since. You've got to help them!"  
"Stay here" she says in a commanding voice then goes towards the doorway he pointed out. 

As soon as she enters the room she sees them, their cages hanging over a deadly drop. Joker wastes no time in turning it into a game, if she get seen the goon in the control room will drop the cages. Alright , she can do that. All she has to do is get the goon in the control box first.... It's a little more complicated than she anticipated but she manages and once the control box goon is gone she's able to make quick work of the rest. Another distraction by Joker, more time he has to finish in the secret lab. After checking to make sure the janitors are OK she starts following Harley's prints again, they lead to a stone wall... and the vent cover right next to it. She pulls the cover off and finds a control panel hooked up to a Joker bomb. It doesn't take her long to crack the code and disarm the bomb, as soon as she does a section of stone wall retraces and revels a door. She steps up to it and watches it open, Joker turns to face her with one of his cheeky smiles. The two goons next to him who where helping him move what she assumes was the venom straiten out and take a mensing step forward.

"Well, look who discovered our secret lab. Since you've made it this far, let me show you what I've cooked up." He says and the bridge behind her folds it's self up, she looks back to see that he's drawn a gun. He shoots the two goons and she watches in dread as they start pulsating and growing. He laughs as he gets into the elevator behind him.  
"Try to survive Darling. I have a big **_date_** planned just for us and I'd hate for you to miss it!" he shouts as the elevator leaves.

The fight is grueling and involves lots of dodging and piggy back rides but eventually she's the only one standing, she almost puts her hands on her knees but doing so would make her look human. She won't let Joker know that he's getting to her. She calls Barbara.  
"Oracle, I've destroyed the Titan production facility, but Joker escaped to cause us real problems."  
"Just when you think it can't get any worse" she grumbles, Bryce decides to leave out the fact that Joker is planning her a date. Whatever horror that is going to be.  
"He's using a venom plant hybrid to create the titan strain. The plants the key, and there's only one person on Arkhum island who can help." not that she's going to do so willingly...  
"And what makes you think that Poison Ivy will help you?"  
"If her plants are at risk, she's listen. I've got a sample of her pheromone signature on record. She'll be somewhere in the garden. I'll track her down." She says before she hangs up. She sets up her tracker then sends Lucius a text asking for a new upgrade, it doesn't take long for the batplane to crash through the garden roof and drop it's cargo. It fly's away again as she approaches her new upgrade... that's from Nightwing not Lucius, there is a note attached.

_**'We will be talking about this when you get home mother. Try not to scratch my Line Launcher.'** _

Well crap, she sighs in her head and picks it up. She'll try to get it back to him in one piece, promise.


	10. Ivy's guide to taking over an island.

She ignores the fondness that warms her heart as she uses the line-launcher and sees that the black metal wire shines blue in the moon light. She makes her way back across the gap where the bridge used to be and starts her search, her hud showing her what percentage of Poison Ivy's pheromones are in the air leading her on a guessing game of sorts but in the end she gets to a set of large glass double doors. She can hear Poison Ivy humming on the other side and steels herself, Poison Ivy may call her Batman but she said it like it was her name and always use female pronouns when they were alone together. After a deep breath she opens the door and enters the room.

Poison Ivy is sitting on a deactivated water fountain petting a vine, as she enters the plants behind her move to cover the exit. Sigh.

"It's all right, my darlings. I'm here now. My poor darlings... Yes, I know she's found us. But I won't let her hurt you. I'll kill her first." 

Poison Ivy mummers as she continues to pet her vine, she clearly knows that she's here but she's content to be petty and pretend that she's not. Rude.

"Ivy, I know Dr Young mutated these plants to produce Venom."

She ignores the vine as it starts slithering towards her, if Poison Ivy wanted to turn this into a fight she wouldn't stop her but she didn't want to be the one to throw the first punch. She had to much to worry about right now after all.

"Yes. And I heard it through the grapevine that the evil woman paid the price."

Poison Ivy says with a chuckle as she turns her full attention onto Bryce.

"I need you to help me create an antidote."

She says bluntly, as much as Poison Ivy liked to talk people in circles she always preferred it when people were direct with her. She hoped she was winning brownie points.

"Why should i? Let Joker have his fun. I'll enjoy watching you squirm."

Or not apparently, on top of turning her down the vine that had been starting to circle her suddenly tried to attack. She was faster though and caught it in her hand while maintaining eye contact, if this was how she wanted to play then fine. She squeezes the vine in her hand hard and watches dispassionately as Poison Ivy buckles in pain.

"You've been in the dark to long!"

She reminds the other woman as she walks over to her.

"Every plant on the island will get the same treatment unless you cooperate"

She adds when Poison Ivy silently glares at her, they both know she's not lying.

"There's a plant, growing deep in Arkhum island. Only it can counter the affects of this Titan strain."

"Where do I find it?"

"Oh, in Killer Croc's lair. You didn't think that it would be easy did you?"

Poison Ivy purrs, inwardly she sighs as she turns and starts walking away. After a few steps she turns back slightly and says.

"Go back to your cell, or I'll be after you next"

Then she continues on her way, she knows that it's unlikely that Poison Ivy will actually go back but know the other woman can't complain that she wasn't warned.

"I'll be waiting"

She hears as she shuts the door. Great, just great. She pushes the thought away and continues on. Poison Ivy is a problem for future Bryce after all. The first thing she does when she's out of Poison Ivy's hearing range is call Barbara with an update.

"Oracle, I need to fine a way into Killer Croc's lair. Its somewhere below Arkhum island."

She blurts out praying that her boys aren't listening in all the call like they do sometimes.

"There's nothing on the system about where he's being kept."

Barbara says immediately, she's been looking up where the inmates are. Bryce is proud of her forethought.

"I found a door near the Batcave, but it's shut tight. There's got to be another way in. I left Guard Cash in the Mansion. I'll see if he can shed some light on where Croc's kept."

She tells her then hangs up and uses her ~~Dick's~~ line launcher to rocket herself at a bunch of goons taunting her from the other side of a large drop. The sound of breaking bones has become almost therapeutic by this point and she's sure that Jason would be proud if he was still here, he always did like the violent side of things. The way she cam has been mysteriously' blown up so she has to go an awkward way that includes vent travel and free climbing which makes her understandably annoyed. The middle of the room she enters is submerged in electrified water but she has the line-launcher and a grudge the size of the island she's being forced to run around on. She walks through the double doors and finds a room full of goons, she makes quick work of them and is a little smug about the fact that none of them see her even with Joker pointing her out. As she's making her way to the garden entrance she hears Poison Ivy speaking over the speakers.

"I want him dead! I won't let him hurt my babies again."

Followed by the Joker who uses the speakers to speak directly to Bryce mockingly.

"I can't believe you left poor little Ivy crying in her garden. She looks so sad."

She ignores him once again and takes a few steps closer to the entrance only to be blocked off by a giant vine smashing through the walls to block her off. This is just what she needs universe, really... 

"I gave her a little Titan. Though I've got to say, the results are a little different. Shall I give her another? I think she wants it."

Joker admits sheepishly in the beginning before snapping back to his regular bullshit tone towards the end. God, she hates this man so so much. She hears Poison Ivy shout in pain as the ground beneath her feet rumbles.

"Well they don't call you ivy for nothing do they dear? I was hoping for a 40 foot killer plant but you don't always get what you want, do you?"

Joker continues, the asshole. She drops into the hole Poison Ivy's giant vines have created so that she can look for a way out, if Dick and Tim ever hear about this she'll never be able to leave home without them again. The hole leads to a vent that gets her to the other side of the vines, she opens the door and leaves the garden. Getting the plants for the Titan cure is more important than Super charged Poison Ivy right now. She steps outside, looks around at the giant vines and giant poisonous flower bulbs and seriously contemplates calling the Batjet then going home. This... this is bullshit of the highest power, one deep breath in and out again steadies her. She can do this, she knows that she can. She squares her shoulders and sets off to the asylum so that she can find Cash. Vines cover the asylums entrance so she uses her grappling hook to get to the roof and enters through an exposed vent, one vent crawl later she safely inside the building and starting to regret it. The place is overrun and the floor is covered in what she assumes is poisonous gas, it takes some doing but she manages to make it across the room and into the next. More awkward maneuvering and she finally manages to land in front of Cash.

"I figured you'd be here about now. What's the deal with the plants?"

Cash asks causally as he swings his gun off of his shoulder. 

"It's complicated."

She says because it's true and she doesn't have a lot of time to spare. He gives her a knowing look.

"Let me guess. Poison Ivy. She teamed up with the Joker."

"All that matters is that I can stop the plants taking over the island, but..."

"There's always a but isn't there?"

"Where do you keep Killer Croc? I found a door in the sewers but it's sealed shut." 

"That monsters got his own special cell. It's right below the transfer room back in intensive treatment. Elevator goes right down to an old sewer. We just drop meat down there every day or so and try and forget about him. It's locked off. More security than the Joker. You won't get in without the Wardens permission. He has the codes."

"Thanks, Cash. Stay here and do not go near the plants. They'll kill you!"

She really means it, he's always so strait forward with her. It makes life so much easier. She leaves the building and makes her way towards where the Treatment center is located, it's harder with the plants but she still makes it to the building it's in on a relatively good time. It would seem that Barbara has hacked her comms (Meaning that her sons have as well, fuck.) because she's suddenly speaking in her ear.

"Every route into Intensive Treatment is locked and there is nothing I can do to bypass security."

She sounds worried so Bryce makes sure to reassure her.

"There was a sniper up on the roof.He got there somehow. I'll find a way."

She hears a Tim snarl the word sniper as she clicks the comms off. She's screwed, completely and utterly screwed. She moves to a different building entirely then uses the line-launcher to make it onto the snipers perch, he spots her and tries to shoot her but she's to fast. She retracts the wires at the last second and kicks the goon in the face before entering the building.

"I'm seeing seismic activity all over the island. You ok?"

Barbara asks but she can tell she's asking for her sons who are still pretending that they aren't on the line, she decides not to call them out on it lest they decide to come to the island in retaliation.

"Ivy's plants are taking over. I've got to stop them before the entire island is under her control!"

She sees no use in lying to them since Barbara can actually see what is going on. She then hops into a vent and further into the building. She gets a lovely view of them blowing up the gargoyles, which is highly annoying. They want to go head to head with her? Fine. She takes great pleasure in beating the crap out of all the goons in the room before she starts back on her journey. She makes it half way down the corridor before her vision glitches like it would sometimes in Dick's old video games then she blacks out.


	11. Killer Croc doesn't like Scarecrow either...

Bryce wakes up in the back of the batmobile tied up and confused. Didn't some goons trash it? She tilts her head to the driver as much as she can and find out that it's Joker, what? Her mind is fogy and her limbs are heavy. What the hell happened? Her world flickers and suddenly she's strapped to the standing table and being wheeled down the Arkhum Asylum entrance way. This... this isn't right. Somethings wrong. She struggles but the bindings are to tight, she feels like she can't breathe.

"I'm not crazy. I shouldn't be here!" She shouts but Joker just smirks, Gordon and the other guards are being lead down the hall on the other side of the metal fence.

"Hey sweetums! You're gonna miss the party." Harley says drawing her attention back.

"Just got to check on your prisoner, dear." She hears scarecrow say from behind her, his voice it distorted in the way that it always is when... she's been DOUSED! Oh god, that explains so much. She wraps her emotions into a vice, this fucking assholes dead.

"Whatever, just be quick! She's not looking to good." Harley says with a pout.

"We really should feel sorry for her. She never fully got over her parents' death. It left her quite insane." Scarecrow adds as he runs his needle points over her exposed cheek. "What is going on inside your head, Wayne? Bah, she's gone! Just a twisted shell of a woman." Oh she'd show him, fucking asshole.

"Cut me free!" She snarls, taking pleasure in the way that he jumps away from her scared.

"She's all yours Joker!" He hisses back.

"Oh goody. C'mon, Mr J. We're ready!" Harley says as she claps happily. 

"I've waited a long time for this, darling. Let's start the party." Joker purrs as he pulls out a gun and points it at her face. "With a bang!" She watches his finger start to squeeze the trigger and jerks to the side but she's too late. 

Her head explodes in pain and her vision darkens but... she's not dead, at least she thinks she's not. She shifts and the blackness crushing her shifts as well, it smells like... earth? She shifts more and manages to get one of her hands free, she uses it to drag herself out of the earth. Wow, she's just dug herself out of her grave, that sucks. She seems to be back in the hell scape Scarecrow loves but this time there are insane versions of herself stuck inside cells, wonderful. 

She fights and parkours her way to the batlight with a slow burning rage in her heart. She's so fucking sick of this, every second she's here Joker is running wild and Poison Ivy is taking the island over. She doesn't have the time or patience anymore. As soon as she steps onto the batlight platform she's back in the real world, she finds out that she's actually holding onto Scarecrow.

"I think you need a little more!" Scarecrow says as he jabs his needle tipped fingers into her arm. "Tell me, what demons do you have left to beat? Shall we see?" He adds before the world falls away.

She's back in the hell scape and falling to the floating platforms below. She's so angry which is a good thing because she's in an arena of some sort. The skeletons that Scarecrow has her facing are no match for her and soon she's able to activate the one of the batlights that escaped her sight during the fight, there are two more meaning that she has to win two more fights.... she thinks, easy enough. Burning Scarecrow is a wonderful feeling, it really is. Breaking out of his hold on her mind and seeing **him** be the one that's scared makes her fucking night. 

"How are you doing this?" He asks in fear as she holds him through the bars that are suddenly in between them, She likes that her body is so used to this that it can complete tasks like this on autopilot. "You've ingested enough toxins to drive ten men insane. What are you?" He growls as he stabs her again, great, more fear toxin. 

She watches him run as her head pounds but she refuses to fall into the hell scape again and starts making her way down the hall, Joker has just been bumped down on her priority list. Scarecrow tried to taunt her but all he does is give her something to follow, it almost makes her smirk when she realizes that he's going to the sewers. He's actually making life easier for her right now, she supposes that he might be trying to get her eaten but well....

Several fights with goons later she finally catches up to him. As she steps into the sewer she spots a plant with a flower bulb, so Poison Ivy wasn't lying. Good to know. She walks over and touches it, someone's killed it.

"Too late, Batman! One step closer... and this goes into the water!" She looks over and sees him holding a bag of fear toxin over the running water. "The city will be filled with your deepest, darkest nightmares and you will never reach your precious venom roots." So he's the one who killed the plant. She ignores his warning and walks calmly towards him, he backs up looking nervous.

"Don't do it Crane!" She says because then he can't say she didn't warn him. He laughs until the water behind him explodes upwards. She watches in slight horror as Killer Croc reaches out and snatches Scarecrow but she snaps out of it when it looks like Killer Croc is about to rip the other man in half, she launches a batarang into his collar sending an electric shock into his system. He snarls angrily and jumps back into the water with Scarecrow. Damn it.

She walks a little until she hears Killer Croc roar coming from a a tunnel on her right, she calls Barbara. "Oracle. I'm heading into Killer Croc's lair to collect the plant spores Ivy spoke about. He's in some kind of sewer network. Send me the schematics. It's like a maze down here." She asks hoping that she has signal, she has no idea how much time she lost 'playing' with Scarecrow.

"There's nothing on record. Bryce, are you sure about this? It sounds like a suicide mission." She asks in her 'Your kids are making me say this' voice, at least she can get signal down here. She turns to the side and sticks a beacon batarang on one of the pipes at the sewer junctions entrance then makes her way in.

"I've got no choice. I've tuned the scanner to pick up the spores required to make the anti-venom. It'll lead me strait to them." She says more to her sons who are defiantly still listening in if the slight hiss of anger is to be believed. 

"What about Croc?" At the mention of him she draws and exploding bat right on the floor, an idea for later just like the beacon.

"Croc's just an animal, and animals just need the right traps and the right bait. I'll be fine boys." Her voice is softer as she says this and she makes sure to hang up as she hears them speak up. She hopes she reassured them, she'll make sure to give them a call when she's back in the batcave.


End file.
